Samuel's Discovery
by Kamahl
Summary: Samus has disappeared. Now, a Bounty Hunter named Samuel Harper must find Samus. Little does he know he's about to uncover a new plot the Space Pirates are concocting. Chapter six contains a few revelations about the Space Pirates.
1. The search begins

Samuel's Discovery  
  
Chapter 1 June 15, 4500 PSS  
  
Five years. It has been five years since I defeated Mother Brain for a second time. The Space Pirates have been quiet lately. A little too quiet. There have been rumors that the Space Pirates are looking at candidates for an alliance. There are, apparently, certain conditions they're looking for in their allies-to-be. I have identified the one planet known to us that is most likely to fit their criterion. I am going, now, to that planet to discern the level of threat that the inhabitants will ally themselves with the Zebesians.  
  
-*~*-  
  
"That's the last anybody heard of her." Said Jerry Hannah-Belle Terrance as I leaned back and stretched. Jerry was the police chief for the Space Police branch that resided on the little nowhere planet I call home. I was one of her greatest admirers and the only one lucky enough to be so close to her as to capture her attention.  
  
"You listening, Samuel?" she asked as she poked me gently in the belly.  
  
"Of course I am." I said, grunting as I scrunched up from the poke. She was the only one who got away with doing that.  
  
Smiling affectionately, she continued "That was ten years ago. The people are getting upset because their hero from the Metroid Crisis has disappeared."  
  
With an equaly affectionate smile, I answered "Just point me toward the planet she left for. I'll find her and be back in time for dinner."  
  
Her smile broadened as she said "That's my Bounty Hunter. Just before leaving, she reported that she was headed for a planet called Torka. I'll see you tonight."  
  
I bid her an affectionate farewell and rushed to my ship. The ship I had come to call Piratebane.  
  
"Good morning, Piratebane." I cooed affectionately as I crawled into the pilot seat, switched the ship on, and set in a course for Torka as her engines came humming to life.  
  
It was a very boring trip. Five hours of nothing but me, Piratebane, my pet (Cregdith), and the cold, starry blackness of space.  
  
As the ship set down on the planet's surface, I pet Cregdith one last time, set him down, chirping happily, and slid into my standard-issue Bounty Hunting Suit.  
  
I stepped through the first door of the airlock, made sure it was properly shut, then slid open the second door into the toxic soup of noxious gases that passed for an atmosphere on that planet.  
  
Upon stepping out of the ship, I recieved a tremendous shock! 


	2. Torka

Chapter 2  
  
Torka  
  
I stepped out into Torka's toxic atmosphere and was completely taken aback! The planet! It waas totaly abandoned! Not a living soul in sight!  
  
"Helloooooo!" I shouted, walking out a bit from my ship, sand blowing into my visor because of the storm. The howling of the wind was my only reply.  
  
Hours and hours later, I had searched the planet's entire barren, practicaly-flat surface using Piratebane's scanners and was none the wiser about the location of the planet's inhabitants. I was about to give up and go home when, by purre accident, the scanners stumbled across what appeared to be a trap door. Instantly, I knew I'd be coming back for some time.  
  
"All right, Cregdith," I muttered, "let's go home."  
  
When I got home, I found Jerry talking on the televiewer with her father. Her father, president of the entire Space Police operation, the boss of the whole show. He was the one that every Space Cop and Bounty Hunter out there reported to.  
  
He smiled at me as I walked in. "Samuel, my boy!" he exclaimed. "My daughter tells me she sent you to Torka to search for Samus. How went the search?"  
  
I sighed and replied "Not well, I'm afraid. A long, vigorous search of the planet's surface revealed absolutely nothing. Well.....almost nothing. There's what looks like a door into the planet's interior......I'm going back tomorrow to search inside."  
  
"I hope you have better luck tomorrow than you did today. Anyway, I've got to go. See you two later!"  
  
We said goodbye and watched him disappear. Then, Jerry turned and looked at me. Trying to keep a straight face, she said "I saw you leaving with another woman this morning. Big and black, with purple in places."  
  
Trying not to smile, I said "All right, I'll admit: I've been having an affair.....with a space ship!"  
  
"I knew it! Oh, you horrid man! You brute!"  
  
"Oh, I AM a brute! Damnation come upon me!"  
  
Suddenly, she was all seriousness. She looked at my face and said, in a very enticing voice, "You should be punished."  
  
I swallowed. "Are...are you....serious?" I stammered.  
  
"Completely, if you'll come to the bedroom."  
  
How long had it been? Two weeks? Well.....since the honeymoon, so, yeah, that'd be about two weeks.  
  
I think yoku all know what we did that night, so I won't go into details. Several weeks later, we would find that Jerry was going to have twins.  
  
But that's getting a bit ahead of myself. First, I must talk about the next day.  
  
When I woke up to head for Torka the next morning, Jerry wasn't awake yet. So I ate a quick breakfast, made myself a lunch, left a note, and headed out.  
  
After a long, dull ride like the one from the morning before, I flew Piratebane straight to the door. I slid into my suit, climbed outside, opened the door, and dropped through. It was a short drop into a small chamber with the usual modern-style elevator.  
  
I hopped onto the little energy platform and it immediately began to descend into the depths of the planet.  
  
As soon as my head got below the bottom of the chamber, I could see a bunch of creatures at the base of the elevator. They were like crabs, each the size of a chihuahua, with two massive claws apiece. And they were standing at the base of the elevator, looking up at me. And they were making me extremely nervous. I got my laser cannon ready just in case.  
  
As soon as the elevator hit the ground, one of the crabs squeaked happily and said "You're human, aren't you? We haven't had a human since that Samus lady!"  
  
"So," I said, hoping they didn't mean had for lunch, "Samus DID come here. Where is she now?"  
  
The little crab got a thoughtful look and said "I think she's still in the Deep Places, but she might have left when the bug people did."  
  
"The bug people?"  
  
"The ones that came and acted all friendly-like to the ursie-nids."  
  
Ursie-nids? I thought. Oh, that's right, the Torkan natives. The scientists that found this place said the natives were bear-like. "So," I said out loud, "what happened to the 'ursie-nids'?"  
  
The crab smiled a realy big smile and said "They used to be mean to us, but all of a sudden, they got realy nice to us and gave the planet to our colynees. Then, glory be to Shamsham, they left with the bug people!" 


	3. The Discovery

Chapter 3  
  
The Discovery  
  
The crabs insisted on teaching me everything about themselves during the six months (SIX MONTHS!) that it took me to search their planet. They would walk along beside me as I searched and talk my ear off about anything under the sun. They even taught me about their methods of reproduction (which, lucky me, they even insisted on showing me). The little crabs, it turned out, were actualy the adults. The young looked more like crayfish. Once they reached their adult forms, they grew only a little bit more. They never got any bigger than the ones that greeted me at the bottom of the elevator on that very first day. And, regardless of their long lives (Up to a hundred thousand standard years!), they never got any more mentaly mature than the level of a five year old human. They had originaly come in space ships from somewhere in an entirely different galaxy.  
  
But all of this doesn't matter to the story much, at the moment.  
  
As I said, it was six months that I searched the planet for either Samus or some indication of where she had gone.  
  
I had been about to give up when, finaly, I found what I was looking for.  
  
Unfortunately, it wasn't Samus that I found, as I would have hoped. Instead, it was a computer data storage unit.  
  
I took the unit and went straight home, too excited to even bother reading it's contents.  
  
When I arrived home hours early, my wife immediately knew that my searching of Torka was over.  
  
"So," Jerry said excitedly, "what did you find? No, wait! I'll call dad and you can tell everything when we're both listening."  
  
Once my father-in-law was listening, I said what I had and hooked the unit up to my computer. It had a single file labled "Mission Report." I opened the file up and began to read.  
  
~*-*~  
  
July 20, 4500 PSS  
  
The unthinkable has happened: The ursanoid Trokans have allied themselves with the vile Space Pirates. A mass exodus of all Trokans has left the planet void of sentient life.  
  
The Trokans took to space in ships and brought all of their technology with them. This includes the society-controling megacomputer they call Father.  
  
I have tapped into their navigating computers and found that they are headed for the planet called Kennich. I am going to follow them. Even if I have to go through alpha-space to get there. 


	4. Kennich

Chapter 3  
  
Kennich  
  
My discovery was just hitting the Newsline the next day as I pulled out of beta-space into the area that my database said Kennich was. They had a vocal reading of the file "Mission Report" and even a detailed report of everything I'd done and learned from Torka. My name was instantly famous.  
  
I had already brought up a connection to the Newsline while I was in beta-space, so as I pulled back into alpha-space, hundreds of thousands of listeners heard me exclaim "Oh, my god!" I cleared my head a bit and said "Samuel Harper, here. Shortly after finding out, yesterday, where the Space Pirates had retreated to, I used the database on my computer to find the location of the planet in question. I have just pulled out of beta-space to find the planet the file called Kennich in fragments. Scanners indicate that the biggest piece is about sixty kilometers across. No signs of any life forms, so the planet must have been evacuated before being destroyed." Or else there were no survivors. I added to myself.  
  
Suddenly, I noticed something: "Wait…..there's a bunch of fragments here that look as if they could go together. Computer's working out what they might have been…..it appears they were once a tunnel. Each fragment is scorched on one side. The scorch marks, according to a timeline scan, were made just before the planet was destroyed. The angles and type of burns indicate that they were made by the exhaust vents of a ship. The only kind of ship that could fit through and still be big enough to make these marks would be a standard-style Bounty Hunter ship. It would seem that Samus flew out of here just before the planet blew. Question is…….where did she go?"  
  
I was sitting there, listening to the excited chattering going across the Newsline, trying to figure out what to do next when, suddenly: "Holy SHIT! Ummm…….each piece of Kennich that is soccerball-size or bigger has just activated engines like a spaceship's and is headed for an unknown destination. They're all going to the same place, wherever that may be…..I guess I'll follow."  
  
I lit up the engines, striking up a speed equalized with that of the fragments.  
  
A few hours later, I knew where we were headed. "Oh, crap…….," I said. "If our course remains constant, the fragments and I are headed for the Metroid home planet, SR-388. As you may or may not know…….the scientists are still not certain whether or not Samus really did destroy all of the Metroids within the catacombs of their homeworld." 


	5. Samus Aran

Chapter Five  
  
Samus Aran  
  
A short time before I reached the Metroid homeworld, all communications connections on my ship were lost.  
  
I broke away from the fragments and flew around to the other side of the planet before going in to land. I switched to stealth mode just as I was entering the atmosphere. Or what they had for an atmosphere. I still can't help viewing a toxic soup as not being a true atmosphere. I flew Piratebane into a little rock alcove, for hiding, that was as close as possible to an entrance to the planet's underground caverns. "Wish me luck, Cregdith." I sighed as I slid into my suit.  
  
Eighteen missile tanks. That's how many I had found before coming to this planet. Plus, there were the two I'd found while I was here. I'd also found, beforehand, the Chozo ball morpher and the Bomb, Spring Ball, and Spider Ball adaptors. I'd also found something called the Gravity Ball adaptor, but neither I nor the scientists I'd given the device's schematics to had been able to figure out what it did or how it was used. While here, I had found, as well as the two tanks, the Spazer, Wave, Ice, and Charge beam adaptors, and the High Jump boot booster. Well, as you can imagine, I felt pretty confident as I strolled down the planet's many hallways.  
  
Suddenly, I realized that I didn't have my audio recorder on. Bounty Hunter regulations demanded that I turn it on any time I entered a planet where communications were impossible. Then, I was to make a running audio commentary. This was so that if I didn't make it out, the discoverer of my body would be able to get some idea as to how I had died.  
  
Feeling certain it wasn't necessary, I flipped the recorder on and updated my records about what I had found so far. Then, I continued to tell everything that was happening as I continued to explore the planet's underground tunnels.  
  
I would destroy a Space Pirate minion here and shoot some killer plant life there as I pressed forward, continuing deeper into the planet.  
  
That is until I came to one specific corridor. The native life had been growing thinner and thinner as I approached this hallway. A deep sense of danger seemed to take on the form of a thick liquid that flowed around me as I scanned the narrow passageway. No life. No life whatsoever, save myself.  
  
Cautiously, I pressed forward, keeping a close watch for danger. Eventually, I came to the corridor's other end. It seemed almost as though the large, blue door itself was radiating fear. I shot the door and stepped through, letting it shut behind me. I was now in a large, cavernous chamber. Behind me was a now-metal door. Beneath me was a ledge that overhung something beneath it. In the room with me…was a single life form, headed straight for me at an incredible rate!  
  
I dropped to my hands and knees to look beneath the ledge I was on. Dug into the wall at the back of the overhang was a short tunnel, just long enough to fit all of my body into. My senses told me I didn't want to meet whatever was coming for me. My scanners told me that nothing the size of the life form coming my way could reach me if I was in the tunnel.  
  
I laid down flat on the platform. Then, with one quick, fluid motion, I flipped myself over the edge of the platform and into the tunnel, now laying on my back, my arms pressed against the ceiling of the dug-out area. Now, if I'd had my arms flat against my sides, the parts that were now pressed against the ceiling would be the undersides of my arms. A sharp pain in my left arm told me there was something wrong with that very same would-be underside.  
  
Looking at my left arm, I pulled it slowly down from the ceiling as far as I could. This revealed a small, dimly-glowing crystal sticking into a long, deep gash in my armor. Instead of my skin, there was a thick pool of blood showing through my armor.  
  
Suddenly, I felt dizzy. Slowly, my world dissolved into blackness around me.  
  
I awoke with a jolt, still in the tunnel. I scanned the ceiling and didn't see so much as a sign of the crystal. I looked at my left arm and the gash was still there, but puffy, pinkish skin showed instead of thick, red blood.  
  
Suddenly, a voice at the mouth of the tunnel forced the oddity of the situation out of my mind. I couldn't turn enough to see it's owner, but the robotic, genderless voice said "Whatcha' catch, hatchling? Well, I'll be…….Hmm, the only kind of creature that would be smart enough to look and, therefore, be down there would be…….Sorry, hatchling, but you can't prey on this creature, it's sentient. Go on, now, get out of here…Hello down there! Not to sound rude, or anything, but what species are you?"  
  
"Human." I grunted, my suit producing an equally robotic, equally genderless and unrevealing voice.  
  
"Ah, another human, eh? By the sounds of it, another Bounty Hunter, too. What's your name?"  
  
Normally, my first instinct would have been to say something like "Who's asking?" But something told me I could trust this person. So, instead, I said "My name is Samuel Harper."  
  
"Samuel Ha-You're the one I've been waiting for! Don't worry, Sam, your search is over. The creature that chased you down there is my pet Metroid hatchling, and I am Samus Aran." 


	6. Surprise, surprise

Chapter 6  
  
Surprise, surprise  
  
"So," I said, looking into Samus's glinting, mysterious eyes (I had refused to take off my helmet, but hers sat on the ground beside her), "even after all these years, and even after getting into the Space Pirates' central computers, you still don't know what they're up to?"  
  
She grinned mysteriously, then replied "That is, unfortunate though it may be, correct. However, while I was in their central computers, I did discover something very interesting.  
  
"What's that?" I grunted, trying to sound uninterested.  
  
"I'll tell you if you take off your helmet." she smirked.  
  
I sighed. How did she know me so well when she'd only just met me? I clicked the button in my left glove that detached my helmet. Then, I slid the helmet off and set it on the ground next to hers. "All right," I spat grouchily, "out with it."  
  
"Damn!" she whispered breathily.  
  
"What?!" I demanded.  
  
Sighing, she said "It's too bad you're married. Anyway, I figure out why the Zebesians act the way they do: They're not born, they're created in laboratories run robotically by Mother Brain. And, they're all male."  
  
"And…………….?"  
  
"Well, you know how males that are adolescent age and older get when there are no females around to keep them in check…….."  
  
"Wait a minute. Are you saying that the Zebesian Threat is caused by……..RAGING HORMONES?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"  
  
"Exactly. And don't sound so incredulous. I've tested my theory. It checks out.  
  
"How?"  
  
"Well, when I defeated Ridley in the recreated Zebes, I took a genetic sample from his body. I didn't know why, then, but it seemed like something was telling me to do it, so I did it. Anyway, after I discovered the nature of the way new Zebesians are created, Mother Brain recreated Ridley once again. It was then that I knew why I had taken the genetic sample. I took a small part of the sample and replaced each Y chromosome with another X chromosome. Then, I changed the genes just enough so that if the experiment was really successful, they wouldn't be close enough for it to be like inbreeding. Then, I used a simple, crude cloning machine I'd constructed to transform my altered genetic sample into a living, breathing specimen. And once they were both ready, I introduced Ridley to his female counterpart."  
  
"And Ridley is…………….?"  
  
"Tame as a kitten. At least, compared to how he used to be. He's only killed one person and raided five ships since he met her. After several attempts at recreating Ridley again, with me doing the same thing each time, Mother Brain gave up and created a whole new leader for the minions of Norfair. Oh, by the way, when I said that all the Space Pirates were males, I meant all of them."  
  
At first, I didn't know what she was getting at. Then, suddenly, it hit me. I shook my head in amazement as I said "And to think, all this time we've been calling him Mother Brain!" 


End file.
